Dr. Lau grew up in St. Joseph and calls Missouri home. She attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and finished her undergraduate studies with a B.S. in Chemistry from Missouri Western State University. She earned her M.S. in Science Education from Northwest Missouri State University and her Ed.D in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She was awarded the Dan H. Cockrell Ed.D Dissertation of the Year Award in 2015 by the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Department.

Dr. Lau taught advanced placement, dual credit, and honors chemistry in St. Joseph. She earned her gifted education certificate and served as the Gifted Education Program Director in St. Joseph for five years. As Director of Research, Evaluation and Assessment, Dr. Lau leads daily operations of a vibrant assessment office focused on continuous improvement and serving students.

Dr. Lau is working towards her second year as a Missouri Quality Examiner through the Excellence in Missouri Foundation. She believes strongly in leveraging an improvement framework to better serve students and communities. Thus, data is extremely important to Dr. Lau's approach to school improvement. She believes the proper use of accurate data can work to support a better tomorrow for the students she serves.